Tag Archive: edgar wright

The Adventures of Tintin is a visual marvel that reinforces my growing belief that animation is becoming the ideal medium for large-scale spectacle. Locations, landscapes, and vistas are limited only by the imagination. Shots are not bound by the logistics of physical space or camera movement; they can go anywhere and track any subject for any length of time. Action set pieces do not require props or pyrotechnics – or unnecessary risk to stunt actors – and technology has advanced to the point where CGI has the look and weight of reality, or better, as it can achieve a dreamy un-reality that is even more dazzling. DirectorSteven Spielberg, who has directed many action films before, seems liberated by the open world animation provides him with, and his action scenes have great excitement, originality, and fluidity of movement.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World would be brilliant were it not for the Attention Deficit Disorder. It’s built on a clever and frequently touching metaphor of young love as a video game, filtering the anxiety of romance through the eyes of the post-Xbox generation. Love literally is a battlefield; instead of baggage, these characters have boss battles. But the film can’t keep still. It’s a funny, sweet, dizzying, over-caffeinated whirligig of disjointed gags bumping into each other at light speed. A lot of it works. It’s intelligent about romantic growing pains. But it needs a chill pill.